Pope Francis uses Easter address to condemn “dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation” in Gaza, says “growing climate of antisemitism around the world is worrisome.”
Pope Francis again called for a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza while calling the global wave of antisemitism “worrisome” during an Easter address today (Sunday).
“I think of the people of Gaza, and its Christian community in particular, where the terrible conflict continues to cause death and destruction and to create a dramatic and deplorable humanitarian situation,” Francis said.
“I express my closeness to the sufferings … of all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” he added. “I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages, and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”
He also stated that the “growing climate of antisemitism around the world is worrisome.”
Francis has frequently condemned Israel for its response to the October 7 massacre, sparking backlash from the Israeli Chief Rabbinate, which accused the Pope of reviving “the darkest patterns of Catholic Church history – patterns that for centuries transformed false accusations into violence against the Jewish people.”
